(6-22-17) Three and a half years ago (12-13-2013) the Celina City Council had a first reading on purchasing the Mercelina Mobile Court Park and displacing long-time-occupants by the lake.
This is the deal that was passed after the third reading (1-13-14), the vote was in favor (5-0) to purchase the trailer park with Councilman Larmore abstaining:
$2.94 million. Bryson Trust Fund paid 90 percent of the deal; the city paid $300,000 from the general fund. The mobile home park would be purchased for $2.2 million and the former Versa Pak property would be acquired for $745,000.
According to city officials at the time of the purchase the Mercelina Mobile Court property would be used to expand and to enhance the Lake Shore Park region by connecting Mercelina Park and Pullman Bay Park.
Council member Mike Sovinski told the Daily Standard at the the time of the purchase:
“All we’re doing is we’re buying the land at a reasonable price.”
During the first reading (12-13-13) of the ordinance for the purchase of the property an audience member asked how much it was going to cost to care for and maintain the additional park land.
Celina Safety-Service Director Thomas Hitchcock
“It will cost very little. It will only be mowing and our crews can handle an additional seven acres. “
With several set backs at the lakefront area the past several years, including the water quality issues and the elimination of the Governor’s Cup Regatta, it seems you can now add the development of the Mercelina Mobile Park as another disappointment.
A $3 million dollar purchase to raise weeds and to provide a nice spot for the geese to feed seems like a wasteful use of city and Bryson Estate funds.
What does the future hold for the area? Who is in charge of making the changes? Where will the funding come from to pay for it?
…or will it remain as it currently stands?
Related information:
Council minutes – 1st Reading of ordinance to purchase Mercelina Mobile Court
Council Minutes – 3rd Reading and approval of Mercelina Mobile Court purchase
ORDINANCE 54-13-O – AN ORDINANCE PPROVING PURCHASE OF MERCELINA MOBILE COURT
Celina moves to renew Bryson debt for park land buy
Mercer County Outlook 
Definitely improved the view for the Hazels. : )
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That had NOTHING to do with it. The legislative body is City Council and no authorization or law can be made without their approval. The mayor only signs what Council passes into law.
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Keep your pants on! Authorities are not rushing the development. It was a very smart move, and will accrue to the benefit of generations of local residents.
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Who wrote this editorial?
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I really think they need an indoor /outdoor theater for the children of Celina to perform. Band concerts, choir, plays and musicals.
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Just makes me sick to look at these pictures. Knowing it cost us over 15000.00 to relocate our mobile home….with no financial assistance from anywhere…..and it is still sitting bare!!!! ????
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A splash pad would be awesome!
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A very generous donation has already been committed from a local business to pay for a splash pad in this park! Design and location are currently being worked on.
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It’s karma to the city officials that displaced families. No on the city council invited the families that lived there to their meetings.
Karma!!!!!
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1. The family who owned the trailer park gave the land to the city. The city didn’t just take it. 2. The mobile home families were invited to the council meeting. 3. They have plans to build a park if you just bothered to ask. This article is nonsense, and just plain rude. Apparently it was too inconvenient for you to actually make a phone call.
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Do you not read the Daily Standard? The city is working on plans for the park. You don’t just jump into a project that will effect the city for years to come. All you do in the article is whine and won’t even put your name on it.
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This article is unfair and uninformed, with all due respect. Yes, it has been a long time since this journey began. Progress is forthcoming in the VERY near future. The progress has been stalled by over a year and a half of negotiations between the city and the trustees and lawyers of the Bryson Trust. Since the land purchased was paid for by the Trust (90%) and the city (10%) we had to come to terms on honoring the request of Ed Bryson’s 1950 estate request “for the use and benefit of the public play grounds…or to assist in the construction of a public swimming pool by the city.” In essence the trust is interpreted as being for the benefit of the children and youth of Celina.
Many lengthy discussions have been had between the city administrators and the trustees to resolve the issue of deed restrictions that would be acceptable to both parties for the newly acquired land. The results of these ongoing meetings and the approved park design are being made public at our next Council meeting. The bottom line is that this will be a major draw to our city for generations to come and we have 1 chance to get this right! We want to make sure there are no poorly placed trees, playgrounds, etc. as we lay out a plan for the ENTIRE park district. That is why in March 2015 the city began to host a Park Advisory meeting with civic groups, community leaders, and fellow citizens to find out what “We the People” of Celina wanted to use this land for most as we proceeded forward. Initial concepts were drawn up for the purpose of submitting ideas to the community revitalization plan for the America’s Best Communities grant sponsored by Frontier (of which Celina was proudly a national quarterfinalist). This was in 2015 and 2016.
As to the purchase of the mobile home park: The owning stockholders decided to dissolve the mobile home park and sell the land. Period. This land, once upon a time, did belong to the city. The owners approached the city to see if we would be interested in once again owning this piece of property. The alternative would be to let a private developer purchase this and then build whatever they desired (condos or who knows what?) on it. Either way that was a decision made by the ownership of the Mercelina Mobile Home Park, and NOT the city. Yes, Celina, with many thanks to the Ed Bryson estate, did purchase the land but that was in the best interest of all the citizens of Celina for ages to come! And the city went well above and beyond the Land Purchase Agreement by permitting the owners to allow their residents much more time to make the transition out of the mobile home park (part of the so called “delay” cited in this article). The city, for the residents’ sakes, was in no hurry to finalize the purchase. As long as people still lived there it was determined by all concerned that it would be inappropriate to lay out any “plans” for future development. That is why there was no initial momentum started until March of 2015. Once the purchase was completed, it was also publicly noted that it would be 3-4 years before any development would occur so that sufficient time would allow for site preparation (infrastructure removal and ground leveling) and suitable design.
So although it has taken quite a bit of time to get to the “ground breaking” phase, we will soon see the benefit of many months of planning, community input, and ideas coming together. Patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait!
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